Lackawanna football teams roll in postseason

Jake Danna Stevens / Staff Photographer
Scranton's Marlinn Waiters scores a touchdown on a fourth-quarter interception against East Stroudsburg South on Saturday.

It was the type of weekend that had to make LIAA president Jim Tallarico proud.

Teams from the Lackawanna Football Conference turned in outstanding performances and posted an impressive 8-3 record in postseason games with all three losses coming against opponents within the league.

Scranton (11-0) and Delaware Valley (10-1) came away with wins against District 11 teams in the District 2-11 Class AAAA subregional playoffs.

That resulted in the two powerhouse teams meeting again Friday night for the District 2 championship.

Lakeland (8-3) defeated GAR, a member of the Wyoming Valley Conference, to reach the District 2 Class AA championship game against Wyoming Area on Friday night.

Dunmore (10-1), the LFC Division II champion, and Old Forge (11-0), the LFC Division III champion, will play for the District 2 Class A title, also Friday night.

And Abington Heights (9-2) knocked off Valley View to reach the District 2 Class AAA championship game against Berwick on Saturday at 1 p.m.

In the Eastern Conference playoffs, Scranton Prep (7-4) overwhelmed Crestwood and advanced to the Class AAA championship game, where it will play at Muhlenberg on Friday night.

Carbondale Area (6-5) overpowered Palisades from District 11 to reach the Class AA title game against North Schuylkill on Friday night.

Showdown II

Scranton and Delaware Valley did their parts to set up a rematch that all of District 2 hoped would happen.

Scranton picked up the third Class AAAA subregional playoff victory in school history when it defeated East Stroudsburg South, 42-20. This season's Knights continued to etch their place in school history as well.

The team's 11 victories established a record. The 2003 team went 10-1.

Sophomore running back Jake McCarthy broke the single-season rushing record and has 1,647 yards. That broke the mark of 1,556 yards set by Mike LaTorre. McCarthy also owns the single-season scoring record with 27 touchdowns and four 2-point conversions for 170 points.

In his career, McCarthy has 2,172 yards and 33 touchdowns for 198 points in his career.

Senior quarterback Marlinn Waiters has thrown for 1,862 yards with a school-record 24 touchdowns. His 192 yards against East Stroudsburg South gives him 3,257 yards in his career to rank second on the school's all-time list behind Al Karaffa, who threw for 5,025 from 2000-03. His 40 career touchdown passes are second to Karaffa's 47.

And Karlon Quiller continues his record-breaking season and career. Already owning the school record for receptions (51), yards (1,243) and touchdowns (19) in a season, his record-breaking career numbers also grew. He has 103 catches for 2,168 yards and 29 touchdowns at Scranton. Including his freshman season at Scranton Prep, he has 116 catches for 2,384 yards and 33 touchdowns.

Amazingly, Quiller has scored 20 touchdowns in 52 touches this season, which includes a kickoff return. He has 16 touchdowns of more than 20 yards among which seven have gone for more than 50 yards.

Delaware Valley senior Bryan Schor became the second LFC quarterback to surpass 6,000 yards passing in his career. His 232 yards in a win over Whitehall gave him 6,166 yards, trailing only Lakeland's Evan Kraky, who had 7,447 from 1998-2001.

Delaware Valley also posted its second win over a Lehigh Valley Conference school by rallying past Whitehall. The Warriors started the season by defeating Parkland, which will play Pleasant Valley in the other District 2-11 subregional semifinal.

Return of the Comets

After enduring its first losing season in coach Joe Repshis' career, Abington Heights is back in the District 2 championship game.

Abington Heights will play at Berwick on Saturday at 1 p.m. The two programs have played twice in the district playoffs since 2008, each winning once. The Comets won in the 2009 semifinals, 53-19.

It will be the sixth time that the Comets are playing in a District 2 championship game. Abington Heights has gone 2-1 in three Class AAA finals, with its only loss coming against Berwick in 2008. It is 3-0 in three Class AAAA championship games.

Berwick enters its 10th District 2 Class AAA championship game and it has an impressive 8-1 record. Its only loss came in 2007 against West Scranton.

Tomahawk chop

Lakeland defeated GAR to reach the District 2 Class AA championship game for the 10th time in its 14 straight appearances in the postseason.

The Chiefs are 5-4 all time, having won titles in 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2006.

This week's game at Wyoming Area will be the second meeting between the two teams in the final. Lakeland won the 2006 clash, 26-21.

Lakeland quarterback Kyle Kiehart pushed his career passing total to 3,104 yards with 30 touchdowns.

Cody Delfino and Tyler Brady are both four-year starters on the defense and will be playing in their third District 2 championship game. Delfino, a defensive end and tackle, has 153 tackles and 19 sacks in his career, while Brady, an outside linebacker, has 131 tackles with three sacks. They have contributed to 31 victories.

More big numbers

When Dunmore plays at Old Forge on Friday night, the game will feature three of the best running backs in Class A in the state.

Old Forge senior Brian Tomasetti established a school record for rushing yards and rushing touchdowns in a season. He has 1,723 yards and 30 rushing touchdowns this season and has scored 35 total touchdowns for 214 points.

In the semifinal win over Riverside, Tomasetti had 201 yards and three touchdowns. That gave him 423 yards and nine touchdowns against Riverside this season.

Dunmore junior running back Daiqwon Buckley had 141 yards against Lackawanna Trail to give him his second 1,000-yard season. He has 1,086 yards with 16 touchdowns this season and 3,038 yards with 42 touchdowns in his career.

His teammate, Austin Seamon, had 142 yards rushing against Lackawanna Trail with two touchdowns to give him 836 yards this season with 10 rushing touchdowns. In his career, Seamon has run for 2,607 yards with 30 rushing touchdowns in his career.

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